New paintings and regular art updates.
I think this was a coot chick (could be moorhen chick) we saw yesterday. I goy a reasonable photo of it although it’s beak seems to disappear into the stony soil on the side of the lake. It’s mum was just out of shot swimming on the lake. I guess they have to be as independent as possible as quickly as they can so that they can go out into the world. But this is a little fuzz ball and it’s still without feathers. I hope it survives to full fledge.
Ouch! When you have the back of your eyes photographed you have to have eyedrops put in that sting. Then for a few hours afterwards your pupils are dilated so that if you walk around in the sunshine everything is dazzling and the world is blurred.
Of course I asked how the pictures looked and the technician said she couldn’t go into detail it they looked OK and she would send the results on to be reported on.
I’m really pleased my eye are OK, I don’t want damage to my retinas. It would be awful not to see things properly. Not be able to paint things or draw. I’m relieved, it’s an annual checkup so I hope to continue to be OK.
I mustn’t watch. The players I support seem to lose when I watch them! If I listen its OK, but if I see the shots… Well it’s something that seems to happen. I have my favourite tennis players, but I’m not obsessed with the game. I wouldn’t go and watch it live.
Wimbledon is the epitome of summer in the UK. Strawberries and cream at exorbitant prices. At least one day of heavy rain which ‘stops play’, injury and tantrums. I still remember watching the McEnroe game where he shouted at the umpire ‘you cannot be serious’ when a shot of his was deemed to be ‘out’ (outside the playing area) and he had lost a point ( game/set/match)?
I saw Andy Murray win a few years ago, so I can’t really be jinxing them. But although I love the game I do have things to do!
PS, both the people I watched lost!
Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was Sky. I tried to draw the clouds I had seen at the weekend as they bubbled up. Shower clouds not quite thunderstorms. There was heavy rain but not hail. Felt pen drawing. I couldn’t replicate the colours in the sky that day.
Long day, a walk, a yoga class, singing. I feel exhausted. The walk was just round Westport Lake on a windy day. There were more geese than I’d seen for a long time. Mostly Canada Geese. But we are not allowed to feed them, because of bird flu. The Westport Lake Tearoom does not sell bird food anymore to try and restrict the spread of the disease. We just walked past the birds and felt sorry for them. Clearly they are used to being fed so they congregate together, so the disease can spread.
Later I went to yoga class, I’m limited in what I can do, so I try and do the movements sitting on a chair. I modify the positions to fit in as well as I can with the rest of the group.
Then later we practiced songs at choir. Some of them are joining the performance at Bethesda Chapel in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday. The show is called Animal Apocalypse. It is about the extinction and loss of animals in the world. It was quite a good practice. All in all a very busy day!
Suddenly overnight, they are in flower. They thrive on poor soil. Some of the leaves have been munched slightly. These are on the front of our house, but when they grow in the garden you can eat the leaves, seed pods and flowers. They are nice to eat as a garnish in salads.
Nasturtiums come in a variety of colours and with plain or variegated leaves. As long as they get some water occasionally they will grow and scramble up surrounding plants or up walls, but they are not frost hardy and will die back when the weather turns cold.
Two wild poppies
On a short walk
Waved to me in the wind
Jolly red and bright.
On rough ground
Seeds had fallen
Nurtured with rain
Baked in the sun
Bright poppies
Like happy smiling children
Waved to me
In the wind
On a short walk
A building with red safety rails began to be built two years or so years ago. This steel skeleton was erected within a few weeks. But then Covid struck. Work stopped and never resumed. Instead we are left with an unbuilt block of studio flats.
There is nothing to indicate who the owners are or whether it will be completed. Bits of metal are strewn in the base of the building including a battered wheelbarrow. The security fencing and security gates have been severely damaged and the site is accessible through the broken gate. Whenever it is completed I hope it will be better than the current site.
Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was wide. I could have drawn a wide mouth, a wide vista, a wide stretch of water. Instead I decided to draw a wide eye! It’s just a quick black and white ink sketch. Nothing much to explain other than that.
Thai food, our treat tonight, cooked by a lady called Apple who runs a Thai restaurant in Stoke.
I’ve written about it before, but I just had a lovely time tonight (and too many gin and tonics), so I thought I’d write about her.
Sawadee Thai taste has been open for several years. But it has been much quieter since Covid as less people are venturing out. I think the food is tasty, but its the friendly atmosphere that really makes it. I think Apple has a great personality. She deserves good Karma and support now things are starting to open up more. If you are ever in Stoke give her a try.
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